Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez has named a 25-man squad to face their upcoming Nations League fixtures, including Cristiano Ronaldo, despite a below-par European Championship performance.
Portugal is set to go against Croatia on September 5 and Scotland on September 8 with both matches taking place at Estadio da Luz, Lisbon.
Ronaldo is the all-time leading scorer in European Championship history and has netted 130 goals in international football. He didn't score any in Portugal's Euro 2024 campaign. The emotional moments of him after missing a penalty against Slovenia and then seeing his side being knocked out in the quarterfinals as France prevailed in the penalty shootout.
Martinez said the Nations League marked a new beginning for his team after their disastrous Euro 2024: "This is the start of a new World Cup cycle. The Nations League brings a high, high level of teams, and this new list opens up possibilities for players we have been tracking closely during the last 16 or 17 months." He told a news conference.
On including Ronaldo, Martinez spoke about the high level of the forward. "Players over 30 have to be more mindful of how careers are managed. Considering his physical attributes, Ronaldo's performance is out of this world, but individual records are part of a player's career. Collective performance is what matters most to us. Cristiano played with all his heart in the European Championship, like the rest of the team, but we have to look forward. Cristiano continues to be an important player for us, but we can't look at the future yet," Martinez added.
Portugal will be in Group A1, with Croatia, Scotland, and Poland. The top two teams from this group go through to the competition's quarterfinals.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, Rui Silva
Defenders: Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva, Renato Veiga, Goncalo Inacio, Tiago Santos, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Mendes, Nelson Semedo
Joao Palhinha-Bayern Munich, Joao Neves-PSG, Vitinha-PSG, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Neves, Joao Felix, Francisco Trincao, Pedro Goncalves
Forwards: Rafael Leao, Geovany Quenda, Pedro Neto, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota
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